A typical drum, such as a drum played by a drummer in a marching band, has a drum head mounted atop a cylindrical drum shell. The drum head typically consists of a membrane of animal skin or synthetic material with an annular metal flange defining the circular shape of the drum head and providing means for mounting the drum on the cylindrical drum shell. Mounted on the sides of the drum shell are a plurality of lug casings. Common drum sizes are from 6″ to 14″. The typical number of lug casings on a 6″ drum is 4 lug casings; 8″ drum, 5 or 6 lug casings; 10″ drum, 6 lug casings; and 12″, 13″ and 14″ drums 8 lug casings. With the drum head mounted on the drum shell, a drum rim is placed over the metal flange of the drum head and secured to the lug casings with tension rods. The bottom of the drum shell is open for transmission of sound waves.
The drum shell contains a cylindrical column of air that resonates when the sounding membrane is struck, contributing to the duration, volume and quality of the sound. The cylindrical drum shell must have sufficient height, providing a sufficiently long air column, to provide the desired sound. For a marching band drum, the height of a typical drum shell is between 6 and 14 inches.
A marching band drummer will typically carry, e.g., by means of a harness assembly, an assemblage of drums that are mechanically joined together. A common drum assemblage carried by a marching drummer has four primary drums, each of different pitch. For this reason, the assemblage is commonly called a “quad”, although the assemblage may also contain additional, usually smaller, drums for special effects.
A quad drum assemblage may become somewhat weighty, 36 to 45 pounds (approximately 15-20 kilograms) being typical, and carrying this weight is a meaningful burden on the drummer. Furthermore, the assemblage, that must be transported from location to location, e.g., in a case, is quite bulky.
Of primary concern, of course, is the sound of the drum. As noted above, the resonating of air within the drum shell contributes to the duration, volume, and quality of the sound. It is a primary object of the present invention to provide drums with improved sound quality. It is further an object of the invention to provide smaller and lighter drums and drum assemblages.